Exclusive: U.S. to sanction both sides of South Sudan conflict in days - sources

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States is planning to impose sanctions on individuals on both sides of the South Sudan conflict in the coming days, U.S. and other diplomatic sources told Reuters on Monday.

The sources, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said that the sanctions would involve a ban on travel to the United States and the freezing of any assets under U.S. authority. People on both the rebel and government sides will be targeted, the sources added, without disclosing names.

News of an imminent U.S. move came as Secretary of State John Kerry threatened sanctions against South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar if he spurned peace negotiations, while government forces battled for control of the northern oil town of Bentiu.

(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau in New York and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)